Barrow will be aiming to record a fifth successive win in all competitions when they host Crawley Town in League Two on Saturday.
The visitors, meanwhile, returned to winning ways by dispatching Accrington Stanley last weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Indeed, Barrow continue to punch above their weight in the fourth tier of English football, with Pete Wild taking the Bluebirds from strength-to-strength since being appointed as their manager in May 2022.
Wild, who previously managed Halifax Town, inherited a team which had narrowly avoided relegation with 21st and 22nd-placed finishes in their first two seasons back at this level following their promotion in 2020, but he guided them to an impressive ninth-placed position in his first campaign in charge.
Despite only finishing two place shy of the playoffs, Barrow were never involved in the race for those spots, with Mansfield Town in eighth actually ending up 13 points ahead of them. However, Wild's side moved into sixth spot by beating Bradford City 2-1 away from home last time out, with George Ray's late strike sending the away fans into delirium.
With some big hitters such as Gillingham, Swindon Town and Milton Keynes Dons all outside of the playoff spots at present, holding onto their position will not be an easy task, but Barrow's fans are beginning to dream of returning to the third tier for the first time since 1970.
© Reuters
Crawley, of course, have competed in League One as recently as 2015 despite only reaching the Football League for the first time in the club's history in 2011, but there were serious fears that they could fall out of the top four divisions this season.
The Red Devils narrowly avoided relegation last time out, finishing only one place and three points above the drop zone, leading most bookmakers to make them the outright favourites to fall outside of the EFL. However, former Swindon boss Scott Lindsey has picked up where he left off following his appointment in January, guiding his side to a mid-table position.
Indeed, Crawley's win against Accrington - who were reduced to 10 men in the 74th minute due to Bradley Hills' dismissal - moved them back into the top half of the table on 24 points from 16 matches. With a game in hand on most teams above them - including their forthcoming opponents - there is no reason as to why they cannot hold belief of securing a playoff position.
In the meantime, though, Lindsey will be urging his players to focus on one game at a time in order to put as much distance between themselves and the relegation zone as possible. With the club still facing turmoil at board level, remaining in the EFL is the ultimate priority, even if that looks like a very low bar based on their current form.
Team News
© Reuters
Barrow are unlikely to make any changes to the starting XI that impressively dispatched Bradford at Valley Parade last time out, meaning that Dean Campbell and Jamie Proctor may be reduced to making an impact from the bench once again.
Having opened the scoring inside one minute in Yorkshire last weekend, Dom Telford will be determined to score against his former club on Saturday, having scored 12 goals in 47 league games for Crawley before making the switch to Cumbria towards the end of the summer transfer window.
Many observers felt that Crawley would not be able to cope without Telford's services, but they have certainly found an able replacement in the form of Danilo Orsi. The former Grimsby Town forward moved onto nine goals in 16 appearances for his new club after bagging a brace against Accrington last time out.
Like his forthcoming counterpart, it would be somewhat surprising if Lindsey opted to make any changes to a winning formula, meaning that Ronan Darcy may have to settle for a spot on the substitutes' bench once again.
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Farman; Chester, Ray, Canavan; Stephenson, Gotts, Spence, White, Newby; Telford, Acquah
Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Ashby-Hammond; Wright, Williams, Maguire; Gordon, Gladwin, Kelly, Lolos, Tsaroulla; Campbell, Orsi
We say: Barrow 1-0 Crawley Town
Barrow have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three leagues games, gaining five points from those fixtures, and we can envisage a similar scenario against Crawley on Saturday.
Both teams have punched above their weight so far this season, but with Telford likely to be extremely motivated against his former employers, we expect the hosts to keep their winning streak going.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
